A 24-hour trip now entitles you to $200 duty-free (up from $50) and a 48-hour trip entitles you to $800 (up from $400.)

Mark Startup of Shelfspace said the new duty-free regulations are a form of short-term pain, long-term gain.

“Many retailers will see this as a threat — many retailers will see that British Columbians are going to get goods and services south of the border,” said Startup, whose organization represents retailers in B.C. and Alberta.

“The reason the government did this is to improve the speed with which goods and services will get over the border.”

By keeping more consumers from clogging border crossing, Startup said, truckers can charge less and Canadian businesses will prosper.

“By raising the duty-free thresholds, it’s going to speed up cross-border traffic — that should allow the Canadian economy to be more competitive.”

Startup said cross-border shopping has decreased over time.

“Yes, we’re concerned about it, but in the larger scheme of things people are realizing that

Canadian retailers are more competitive.”

Ken Oplinger, president of the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry, believes the most significant change in the Canadian exemption limits for Whatcom County retailers will be for the 48-hour period, which rises from $400 to $800.

“The 48-hour limit change is a big deal for Whatcom County retailers, partly because of the number of Canadians who have second homes in the Birch Bay area and regularly travel across the border,” Oplinger said.

He added that Canadian traffic into Whatcom County has appeared to remain strong in the first quarter of 2012, noting that the border was particularly busy last week, which was spring break for many Canadians.

“(Whatcom County) retailers have expressed no concerns to me about Canadian shopping; it has remained strong,” Oplinger said. “I don’t see anything right now that would slow down traffic, even if the Canadian dollar weakened into the mid-90s (compared to the U.S. dollar) in the coming months.”

Oplinger also noted the British Columbian government will take some time to revamp the Harmonized Sales Tax issue, something B.C. residents voted to change last year. The HST has meant a higher tax rate for certain products, such as school supplies, possibly prompting more Canadians to shop for those products in the U.S.

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